7459: Are the Prophets Equal?

I help teach a group of girls about Islam once a week. This past week, one of the girls asked me the following question to which I was not able to reply and I told her that I would look it up or ask someone. The question was: Are all the prophets considered equal? If so, then why is it that the there is a prophet on each level of heaven, with Prophet Muhammad (peace oand blessings upon him) in the highest (seventh heaven)?

Praise be to Allaah.

All
people were created by Allaah and are His slaves; His is the power and
command from eternity to eternity. Allaah, in His infinite wisdom, decreed that He should select some of His angels and prefer them over others, such as
Jibreel, Mika’eel, Israafeel, Maalik, Radwaan et al., who have a higher status than others. And He, in His wisdom and justice decreed that He should
select some of the children of Adam and prefer some of them over others,
so that they have a higher status and better position. As Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Those
Messengers! We preferred some of
them to others; to some of them Allaah spoke (directly); others He raised
to degrees (of honour)” [al-Baqarah 2:253]

Allaah
tells us that He chose and selected these Messengers from among mankind.
After mentioning some of the Prophets and Messengers, He says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And
also some of their fathers and their progeny and their brethren, We chose
them, and We guided them to the Straight Path” [al-An’aam 6:87].

And
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And
Allaah has preferred some of you above others in wealth and properties”
[al-Nahl 16:71].

In His wisdom, He that Adam (peace be upon him) should be the father of mankind, and His wisdom, mercy and justice decreed that from among Adam’s progeny He should select an elite of Messengers and Prophets –
may peace and blessings be upon them and upon our Prophet. Among those
whom He chose and preferred over others were the Messengers of strong will
[Uloo’l-‘Azm, see al-Ahqaaf 46:35], namely, Muhammad,
Ibraaheem, Nooh, Moosa and ‘Eesaa ibn Maryam, may the best of blessings
and peace be upon them. And He chose and favoured above them all their
leader, the final Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He is indeed the leader of
the sons of Adam, with no boast. He will carry the banner and will be
granted the power of intercession [on the Day of Resurrection]. He is the
one who will attain al-maqaam al-mahmood (the Praised Position) in
Paradise, which will be given to one person only, and that person will be
our Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Hence Allaah
took the covenant and pledge from all the Prophets that if Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent during the lifetime
of any one of them, they would be obliged to follow him
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), to leave behind what they had brought
and follow what our Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) brought. As Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And (remember) when Allaah took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying:
‘Take whatever I gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of the
Laws of Allaah), and afterwards there will come to you a Messenger
(Muhammad) confirming what is with you; you must, then, believe in him and
help him.’ Allaah said: ‘Do you agree (to it) and will you take up My
Covenant (which I conclude with you)?’ They said: ‘We agree.’ He
said: ‘Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses (for
this).’ Then whoever turns away after this, they are the
Faasiqoon (rebellious: those who turn away from Allaah’s obedience)”
[Aal-Imraan 3:81-82]

The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him): “By Allaah, if
my brother Moosa were alive, he would have no
choice but to follow me.”

And when the Messiah ‘Eesaa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) comes down
at the end of time, he will come to rule in accordance with the
sharee’ah (religious laws)of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
and he will follow him
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

All of the above refers to their status before Allaah. With regard to
their religion, it is one religion, for they all called people to believe
in One God, Allaah (Tawheed) and to devote worship sincerely to Him Alone.
With regard to laws, each of them had his own law which was for his people
alone. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“To each among you, We
have prescribed a law and a clear way” [al-Maa’idah 5:48]. But the
way (sharee’ah) of our Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is the most perfect, the best, the most complete and
the most beloved to Allaah; it abrogates all laws that came before it.
Undoubtedly the Prophets differ in status, and they are at varying levels.
The best of them, as stated above, are the five Messengers of strong will
(Uloo’l-‘Azm), and the best of them all is the Seal of the
Prophets, Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

With regard to the saheeh ahaadeeth (authentic prophetic narrations), “Do not prefer me over Yoonus ibn Mattaa” and “By the One
Who chose Moosa over all of creation” – these all indicate the immense
humility of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
when speaking of his brothers the Messengers. But he is undoubtedly the
best of them all, for he led them in prayer in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem)
on the night of the Israa’ (Night Journey). He will be the leader of the sons of Adam on
the Day of Resurrection, and he is the only one among all the Messengers
who will be granted the power of intercession on that Day. He
(peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the one who said: “From among
the sons of Adam, Allaah chose Quraysh; from among Quraysh He chose
Kinaanah; from among Kinaanah He chose Bani Haashim; and from among Bani
Haashim He chose me.” He
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is the Chosen One (al-Mustafaa) from among all of mankind.